Murphy's Law

[yardpro]

i also think that this story is questionable...

a DM is NOT an instructor and cannot certify.

I cannot see a dive boat telling a lone diver to descend alone a second time and look for the group.

I cannot see an operation NOT letting a lone diver in the boat

i really cannot believe a DM or instructor disables an inflator hose and leaves an certified diver to their own devices.

ploy for attention may be?

 

[Quero]

Really? You have no problem believing that a DM told her to "inflate the BC manually underwater." ? Why would any diver do that?

- Bill

It's a skill we train in confined water but don't assess in the open water. It can become necessary if an inflator button gets stuck and the diver needs to disconnect the inflator, but still wants to manage the air in the bladder. One time when I was leading a dive, one of my divers who was using a BCD with one of those i3 lever-inflator devices couldn't get his inflator to pump air into the BC, and he signaled me about the problem. When I signaled back to orally inflate his BC, he did a face palm because that's the obvious solution, and he had been trained to do it under water.

 

[FM1520]

The point is not whether inflating a BC underwater is a taught skill, its the claim that the DM

disconnected the inflator hose, did not reattach it and told her to leave it off. ​

 

[Quero]

That may be your point, FM1250, but it's not my point. My point was in response to the question billt4sf asked, which was

Why would any diver do that?

 

[Bratface]

I think the most important lesson here is, if you are so new and diving under new conditions--salt water, boat dive, first dive after certification, no buddy, vs pool, instructor, etc.--hire your own DM to be your guide and buddy. I am an experienced diver and wouldn't hesitate to buddy up and help a newby enjoy a boat dive in the ocean but if I were on my vacation and was expecting to enjoy myself,I would not want to have an inexperienced buddy with no diving experience and would decline being buddied up with one.

When i was a noob, I went to Bonaire alone with a fresh c-card. It was going to be my first dive after certification. I learned in the ocean so I was familiar with salt water. I called the dive center before going and explained this to them. I was assigned a DM of my own. He lead the dive and had me by his side. He pointed out all the fish, checked my air and made sure I had fun and was safe. It really made a difference for me. He was my buddy all week and his joy of diving was contagious.

Diving is supposed to be fun and your first dive after certification should not be a test of your survival skills.

 

[yardpro]

i think that bratface had a much more typical experience with a DM....

 

[ferris213]

A lot of this post seems very strange, and I can't imagine a scenario where the crew would ever refuse permission for a diver in the water to re board the boat.

Perhaps if the had a major medical emergency on board and needed the space?

 

[Chilly_Dipper]

OPs story strikes me as 1 part truth 2 parts perceived reality.

1. Losing their group twice is like due to their failure to be aware of their surroundings, but if it was a cattle dive boat not hard to do
2. Likely they never connected their LP inflator hose to start with and it's easy to blame the incident on the DM then to take ownership of the mistake
3. Dive boat likely wasn't ready to re-board diver so waved off the diver for safety until the got their ladders down and props shut down
4. I have no doubt they got charged for the lead they ditched, which I disagree with since you're basically making a life or death decision based on financial concerns (never a good idea)


All in all like I said I can see flavours of truth mixed into the OPs story but I also have been witness to enough 'train wreck' divers to recognize post rationalization and blame shifting when I see it.

---------- Post added June 10th, 2013 at 11:20 AM ----------

Really? You have no problem believing that a DM told her to "inflate the BC manually underwater." ? Why would any diver do that?

- Bill

Bill,

Standard procedure for run away BCD inflator is to remove the hose to prevent un controlled ascents.

That and I know plenty of air miser divers that will use their exhale to fill their BCs just to get a few seconds extra dive time